Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy One-size-fits-all Program?

Hi everyone,

I have two sons (ages 10 and 8) who were just identified for our school's gifted program. I guess you may need to know their IQ's to help me with my questions: DS10's FSIQ was 145 and DS8's was 144. Both boys are exceptional readers, writers, and science students. Their math skills are very high, but they still enjoy the regular classroom math activities. They are both extremely musical. Also, DS10 has a strong interest in science, and is highly talented in this area. I should mention that DS8 makes me CRAZY because he is very bright, but the sloppiest printer in the 2nd grade! (However, his cursive and detailed diagrams/drawings are just beautiful!)

So, on to my concerns! I just had my IEP meetings for my children last week and I was shocked by 1) the school's ridiculous 3-page documents that they felt addressed my sons' needs (identical documents for both--very different--kids), and 2)the school's extremely limited plan for addressing the needs of my children.

The current IEP would give my children a 1 1/2 hour pullout in every 6-day cycle. During this 1 1/2 hour time, the librarian (who doubles as the gifted teacher one morning per 6-day cycle) will work with my kids on independent study projects, literature circles, and math concepts. The pullout occurs in a group setting, with other, similar-aged gifted kids.

I asked about several things: pre-testing options for spelling and math, alternate assignments, acceleration for science, music lessons for my younger son, and writing goals for the IEP. I was told that none of these things are ever written into IEPs and that I needed to address these needs with the classroom teachers next year. I guess that puts me in a position of just hoping that we get a good/cooperative teacher for each boy next year? I was also told that the current budget cuts here in PA make it impossible for them to commit to a "contract" stating that the music or science teacher would be able to cooperate in my children's gifted programming.

Our school's gifted teacher is ONLY present for them during their designated 1 1/2 hour time slots. The teacher is simply unavailable during all other days/times, and cannot help with any other enrichment/acceleration that my children need.

Is this the norm? I'm shocked! I was hoping our district would treat my children just as they treat the students in need of learning support assistance. Our school's LS teacher is present all day long--and the children can go to her during any appropriate subject (i.e., if they have trouble with reading, they go to her room during that period--no matter what time of day). Why don't schools have a dedicated gifted teacher to do the same for the children with giftedness as their exceptionality? Or is it the case that most schools DO have a dedicated gifted person? (Is my district just terrible compared to the others in Pennsylvania?)

What you all would do if you had been given the recommendations/IEPs that I received? I was under the impression that the one-size-fits-all gifted pullout was no longer considered adequate for meeting the needs of gifted kids! These IEPs contained nothing that was individually written to address the specific needs of my children. I feel that it was just a generic form that the IEP team uses for all of the gifted kids. I didn't sign the NORA, and the school reps plan to meet with me in a week to review their new "plan."

One more question: I did not allow our school's psychologist to test them, as I do not have confidence in her abilities. The outside assessments I sought were great--but they were pricey! Can the school require me to have them re-tested at some point? And if so, how soon?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

jellyb

Hi Dottie,

Yes--the psychologist was able to do the achievement tests, too. The psychologist used some subtests from the WIAT and did the entire WRAT, too. I don't have their scores right in front of me tonight, but I'll look them up for you when I'm back home (I'm out of town right now!). The achievement scores showed both boys to be a bit higher in reading than in math, but both were performing well above their ages/grade levels across all test areas.

Yes, my older son WAS tested a few years ago through the school system. At the time, his speech issues were so extensive (due to a cleft palate issue) that he tanked on the nonsense words in the WIAT. He just couldn't pronounce many of those sounds properly!

At that time, a lengthy discussion with the school psychologist ended with her saying that she knew her tests were not a good reflection of his true abilities but that she "didn't know what else to do to get a more accurate result." (She spent the majority of our discussion telling me how much she disliked her job, and talking with me about graduate programs she was pursuing.)

In the end, he missed the magic number in the rubric the school uses by one point. (Not sure if all schools use the same formula--ours included weights for the WISC, the WIAT, parent survey, and teacher survey.) Rather than pushing the issue further at that time, I decided to wait and allow him to have more time to receive speech therapy and surgical interventions before re-testing. And I decided to do it OUTSIDE of the school system this time. (Because of that bad experience, I decided to have DS8 tested by the outside psychologist, too.)

In the meantime, I received a few strongly-worded notes from DS10's 3rd and 4th grade teachers, informing me that I needed to get him re-evaluated ASAP. His teachers were absolutely convinced that he needed the gifted program! I finally felt that his speech had progressed enough to allow him to be properly tested a few months ago. In the end, the psychologist STILL had to do the testing with several breaks between subtests. He just gets exhausted when he has to worry about pronouncing every word with clear, accurate pronunciation!

Actually, our school does not admit many kids to the gifted program at all. In DS10's class of 80 students, only 2 are in the program. In DS8's class of 85, only 2 students have been referred.

I am VERY relieved that the school accepted the testing! You're right--they told me from the start that they didn't have to, but they would look at the results "with an open mind." I think it helped that both of my kids have had teachers who have stressed to the administration that they really DO need gifted programming. The teacher input means a lot to the administration! Also, the psychologist did a terrific job of preparing the report. I'm sure my son's KBIT from years ago and his Terra Nova Scores didn't hurt, either.

I really do not want to go down the mediation/due process path right now. I want to maintain a positive relationship with the school for now, and I'd like to see how next year works out. Remember that it'll be their first year in the program.

I do wish our school would consider acceleration! They currently do not use acceleration at all, despite the fact that several parents have requested it for their children. I'm not sure of their reasoning--they seem to be pointing to social concerns for the children. I don't talk much with other parents from the program. I'm not sure whether they tell the real truth about what they've asked for/received for their children. And I'm aware that every child is different...

So a dedicated gifted teacher is highly unusual? I know that a district about an hour away from us has 2 gifted teachers available to students all day long. It's a wealthy district, though--that may be the difference! We're a small school with a much lower budget.

Did you work out enrichment/acceleration with your son's classroom teacher each year? Or were those adaptations included in your son's IEP? I'm just not sure whether I should just sign off on their generic, "typical" gifted IEP or insist upon the inclusion of more specific information. I hate to be sitting back, hoping that my kids will get cooperative teachers interested in differentiating for them each year!

Thanks for any advice you have, Dottie. I sure do appreciate it!

jellyb